Storming Unova
by perfect oblivion
Summary: After his defeat in Sinnoh, Ash comes to realize the cause of his weakness. No longer holding himself back, Ash tackles a new region with everything he has. Look out Unova, Ash is taking this league challenge by storm.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A golden yellow, almost orange, setting sun touched the horizon; it's waning rays staining the once cerulean sky a menagerie of reds, oranges, and lilacs. The once azure waves of the ocean were now dull reddish orange, the golden setting sun mirrored upon its rippling surface. The constant cacophony of gentle waves splashing against the hull of the cruise ship sailing across the vermillion water filled the air, punctuated with the cries of wingull flying overhead. Occasionally, a water pokémon would break the surface, bathe in the glow of the setting sun for but a minute, and then sink back beneath the vermillion waves. This was the scene to which Ash Ketchum stared out to in quiet contemplation of past experiences. Ash had finished his adventure within Sinnoh, and had parted ways with friends both new and old. He had surpassed many challenges and adversaries, yet one challenge always defeated him, no matter how close he got to surpassing it, the Pokémon league championships. Ash had never won a single one, be it Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and now his fourth failed attempt, Sinnoh. He had gotten to the quarterfinals, triumph had never been so close, but it all came crashing down in the end. He had fought Tobias, and no opponent had ever seemed so insurmountable. It took almost his entire team to defeat his Darkrai, and when it had been defeated, Ash thought he still had a chance. Unfortunately, Ash never imagined Tobias having a second legendary pokémon. It took the remainder of his team to defeat Tobias' Latios, and once again his hopes for championship were crushed. Ash let out a deep sigh, his mind trying to figure out what went wrong. He knew he could have done better in his team construction, but he didn't have enough knowledge on Tobias' team at the time to put something together. Ash's thoughts then came back to Tobias' legendaries.

_'If I had a legendary, would I have won?' _Ash thought to himself. This had been a question he had always asked himself when he lost a championship tournament. There had been plenty of opportunities to capture a legendary, including some of the more powerful ones, but Ash would never take them. He felt that if he captured a legendary, then he would never lose, and battling would lose its thrill.

_'And I don't want to end up like Volkner.' _Ash thought, remembering the attitude of the Sunyshore gym leader. Now though, Ash felt like a legendary was the only solution to attain victory in a championship tournament.

_'Or maybe it's because I'm not taking things seriously.' _That stray thought gave Ash pause, and the more he dwelled on it, the more he realized that it could be right. It didn't matter how little he knew of Tobias' team, if he had used his most powerful pokémon, he would have had a way better chance at winning. In all his previous battles, why didn't he do that? Why didn't he use his more powerful pokémon during the battle against Paul at lake Acuity? Why did he never use a more powerful pokémon when the situation called for it?

_'Because that's what an experienced trainer would do.' _Ash frowned slightly at that thought. Wasn't that the whole point? If it was what an experienced trainer would do, then why would he avoid doing it? It made no sense. After thinking on it some more, the answer came to him. He was starting fresh. Ever since Hoenn, he wanted to tackle a new region with only Pikachu by his side, so that it felt like he was starting his journey for the first time all over again. Yet the feeling never came. Sure there was that feeling of excitement at the prospect of tackling a new region with new species of pokémon, yet the feeling of beginning a journey for the very first time would never come. No matter what Ash did to get that indescribable feeling, nothing worked. He then realized he had been limiting himself more and more, just to experience the feeling.

_'And look where that got me._' Ash thought bitterly to himself. _'Well no more. It's a fact, I can never experience the thrill of my first adventure ever again no matter how hard I try to replicate it. Professor Oak mentioned something about a new region earlier today on the phone. Well he can be sure I'm taking it on, and this time, we get serious. No more deliberate slip-ups. No more team limitations. This time, I'm going to bring my full power to the table.' _Ash clenched his fist in a silent promise to do better in the new region, garnering a certain someone's attention.

"Pika?" asked the boy's Pikachu, who was nestled comfortably on Ash's shoulder. Ash smiled softly at his pokémon, the one who had been with him through thick and thin, and scratched the mouse affectionately behind the ear, eliciting a squeal of delight from the pokémon.

"It's nothing buddy. Just promising myself I'll win the next league we take on for sure." Pikachu smiled and readjusted himself as Ash got up off the deck chair he had been sitting on while watching the sunset, and headed to his cabin. After performing his usual nightly rituals, Ash flopped down on his bed and fell asleep, dreaming of a new region and a new beginning.

* * *

"Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking. The S.S Typhoon will be docking in Vermillion city in thirty minutes. Please take this time to gather all carry on luggage and any small pokémon you may have let loose." Ash was immediately roused from his slumber by the captain's announcement. Quickly changing out of his sleepwear, Ash repacked the luggage he had brought out and headed to the deck of the ship, Pikachu leaping onto his shoulder as he passed through the door. Once Ash had reached the deck he ran to the railed edge and gazed out to the port city of his home region.

"Feels great to be back doesn't it buddy?" Ash asked his starter pokémon, who gave a short "Pika" in response. Soon the boat pulled into Vermillion harbor, and the stairs were wheeled to the side of the boat. Ash swiftly returned to his room and grabbed his backpack, and headed off the boat. Once he was off, Ash looked around the harbor and found his mom and professor Oak waiting for him.

"Ash my boy," greeted the professor, "good to see you again. So sorry about your loss in Sinnoh, though given the circumstances it was quite understandable."

"Professor," Ash's mother, Delia, admonished, "you make it sound like you were expecting Ash to lose. Don't worry sweetie, your mother was rooting for you the whole time." Ash just smiled, and the group entered the professor's car and began the trip back home. As they rode back home, the group conversed about Ash's time in Sinnoh, how his pokémon were doing back at Oak's lab, and the current topic, the new region Ash would be going to.

"So professor, you said something about a new region yesterday on the phone." Ash remarked.

"Ah yes, the Unova region." Replied the professor. "The Unova region is much different than the other four regions due to its extreme isolation. Due to this isolation, the region has a pokémon ecology completely unique to itself. You can only find Pokémon from Unova in the region, and Pokémon from other regions are exceedingly rare. Even the waters of Unova have only their native water types in them, and the bird pokémon there apparently do not migrate." Ash widened his eyes at this. A region whose pokémon could only be found there and had little to no foreign pokémon? That sounded quite lucrative given the circumstances. Soon after continuing the conversation, Pallet town came into view, and soon after that they were pulling up into professor Oak's driveway. Ash immediately got out of the vehicle and headed around the back of the lab to the pokémon reserve behind it, intent on seeing all of his pokémon. Soon he found them all, and gathered them all up to talk to them. Once all were assembled and the usual greeting habits were out of the way, Ash began.

"First off, to all of you who fought with me at the Lily of the Valley Conference, thank you for your support. We may not have won, but we got close, and that was all thanks to you guys. Now, on to business. In one week I leave for a new region called Unova, and therefore I want you guys…" At this, all of Ash's pokémon that he attained before Sinnoh cringed. They knew what was coming.

"To get yourselves into fighting shape again." Ash finished, much to his pokémon's astonishment. They had thought Ash was going to leave his Sinnoh team at the reserve and begin fresh in the new region with only Pikachu by his side, so that had come as a total shock.

"I can see that came as a surprise to most of you, so allow me to explain myself." Said Ash as he gazed at the looks of shock he was getting. "As I was coming back home from Sinnoh, I came to a realization. I can never experience the thrill of starting my journey for the first time again, it just isn't possible. The reason we lost that league was not because of you guys, but because of me. I was doing all I could to try and get that feeling, but in the end I was only handicapping myself for something that would never happen. This caused all of you to stagnate to the point where you couldn't bring your all into those fights. Therefore, I'll be using all of you in Unova, be it for training my new pokémon, non-league competitions, or battles where I'll need your power. No more leaving you all behind, this time we do it right. We're going to take Unova by storm, team, and this time we'll be taking home the championship." All of Ash's pokémon cheered in agreement, and soon they were all getting to work rebuilding their lost strength. Ash smiled, Unova wouldn't know what had hit it.

* * *

A week had passed by quickly, too quickly for Ash's taste, but for that entire week he had not wasted a second of Dialga's gift to man in getting all his pokémon back into top form. Earlier in the week he had gone into Viridian forest, and came back out with an old friend. Pidgeot had rejoined Ash's team, seeing as the flock it had been leading could now take care of itself, and was delighted to once again fight by it's master's side. Ash was all too happy to let his first flying type rejoin the team, and soon Pidgeot had reacquainted itself with old friends, and got along remarkably well with the newer faces. Now he was ready to leave for Unova. He wore a blue hoodie with a white undershirt, had a new, larger backpack to hold his things, and wore a new red hat with a white front, a blue pokeball design emblazoned on the white. His mom was hanging around him, constantly asking him if he remembered everything he would need to know if he was travelling on his own, or if he had forgotten to pack something. Finally, professor Oak pulled up in front of Ash's home and beckoned the two into his vehicle.

"Come on you two. Our flight leaves in an hour." He called, and the two wasted no time getting in. They reached the airport quickly and soon they were flying over Kanto and towards Unova. Ash had never travelled by plane before, so this was a novel experience for him, but soon he grew bored of seeing only the blue ocean beneath him.

"You look bored." Said a male voice from beside him. Startled, Ash whipped his head to face the voice, and saw that someone had been sitting in the seat beside him.

"When were you there?" Asked Ash, making the teen laugh.

"I was always here. You were just so busy looking out the window you never noticed." He replied, causing Ash to chuckle and rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that, it's just that this is my first time flying in a plane, so I was a bit excited."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I was the same way on my first flight." The stranger replied, and then stuck out his hand. "The name's Tyson." Ash grasped the offered hand and shook it.

"Mine's Ash, nice to meet you Tyson." He replied.

"That's why you looked familiar. I saw your match in the Sinnoh quarterfinals, that was an amazing battle." Said Tyson.

"Yeah, but I still lost that one."

"Hey, don't go beating yourself up over that loss. The guy was using legendaries, powerful ones at that. What he was doing fighting in the regular league I have no idea, he should have been taking on the elite four and champion. Besides, even though you lost, you have bragging rights. Everyone he faced was beaten with just his Darkrai. You knocked it, and his Latios out. That has to count for something." Ash couldn't help but smile at that. It was true, Tobias always won with a clean sweep in every match, but Ash had taken out not just his Darkrai, but his Latios as well, something no one else in the entire league could do. Well, he was sure Paul might have been able to beat his Darkrai, but that was it.

"So I take it you're taking on the Unova league challenge." Said Tyson, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, and I aim to win it." Ash replied. "What about you, are you taking on the Unova league?"

"Me? Nah, I'm going back home is all. I've been away from home for six years on a long-term training trip. I just finished my training in Sinnoh and I'm finally returning home." Soon, both Tyson and Ash were having an animated conversation on various subjects, from their favorite pokémon types, to the similarities and differences of their home regions. Hours passed in what felt like minutes, and soon the plane had begun its descent for landing. Ash and Tyson were broken from their conversation as soon as the plane landed on the water.

"Wow, time sure can fly. We're here." Said Tyson in mild amazement. Soon everyone had disembarked from the plane and was walking down the pier.

"Ah it feels good to be back in my home region again." Said Tyson as he walked down the pier to the shore.

"So this is Unova." Ash remarked as he looked around. He then heard a splash and turned around. At first there was nothing, then a pokémon that looked like a bigger version of Luvdisc leaped out of the water.

"Whoa what kind of pokémon is that?" Ash wondered aloud.

"That Ash, is an Alomomola." Replied Tyson, who had also been looking out over the sea.

"Alomomola? Is that an evolution of Luvdisc?" At that question Tyson chuckled.

"Nope, though I can see how you came to that conclusion. It does look like something a Luvdisc would evolve into. Alomomola is completely unrelated to Luvdisc. Unova has an isolated ecology of pokémon, meaning that none of our pokémon are evolutions of, or evolve into any of the pokémon from the other four regions."

"I can understand that about the land, but how is it that Unova has only it's native water types in its oceans? Wouldn't other sea dwelling pokémon be able to come here?"

"Very rarely they do, but those are only the ones who can cross the Unovan Barrier Current. It's a large water current that surrounds Unova, and is very, very cold. It makes Unova's oceans colder than the other region's, causing the sea dwelling pokémon here to find the foreign oceans unpleasantly warm, and foreign pokémon find our waters uncomfortably cold. So through temperature, the current has kept Unova isolated from foreign water types." Ash was wide eyed from the information, but then he noticed it was getting darker out. Looking up, Ash saw that dark clouds were gathering at a swift rate.

"Um Tyson, is it normal for random storms to appear in Unova?"

"Around the ocean yes, but they don't last long and are not very severe." At that moment, a deafening crack of thunder sounded. Tyson and Ash both looked up quickly, and what they saw shocked them. The clouds above had become a dense black, and were slowly swirling.

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a hurricane?" Ash asked fearfully.

"Normally I'd agree with you, but there is a key component missing that would make this storm natural, there's no wind" Tyson replied, and sure enough, the water was still completely calm. Then he felt it. It was like the air had been supercharged with electricity.

"Oh no. Pikachu?" Ash asked and looked on his shoulder, but no mouse sat on it. Looking around frantically, Ash finally found his electric pokémon, who was standing farther down the pier. Sparks and short jolts of electricity were coming of his body, and Ash realized what was happening.

"Oh no, not again."

"Again? What do you mean again?" Asked Tyson in confusion.

"Every time I go to a new region, something always happens that causes Pikachu to overload with electricity. I get him fixed up every time, but afterwards it's like he's been reset to the strength he had when I first got him." Pikachu could feel the electricity invading him, and desperately fought it. He would not let this happen again, not when Ash needed all his strength. Despite his efforts though, the electricity was still filling him, slowly but surely reaching the critical point. Then Pikachu hit on a plan. It was crazy, it was dangerous, but it would work. With a loud cry, Pikachu let loose every ounce of electricity it had, and kept the super powered Thunder attack fuelled with the electricity invading it. The plan was to use the electricity to destroy the storm, but Pikachu had no idea something was within the swirling clouds. The massive thunderbolt ripped into the clouds, and smashed into the pokémon hidden within them. Despite the power the pokémon held, even it was being damaged severely by the electricity hitting it. Ash was amazed at the power Pikachu started outputting, then shocked when the electricity struck something big and black hiding within the clouds.

"Tyson, what is that?"

"That, Ash," Replied Tyson, his voice filled with amazement, "is Zekrom." Finally, Pikachu could keep up the electricity no more, and with a pained cry, released the electricity. Zekrom glared down at the pokémon that dared attack it, and let loose a furious roar. Down on the ground, Ash could see Zekrom glaring down furiously at Pikachu, then it let loose a roar full of rage. Then he heard something akin to the sound of a spinning turbine. Zekrom's tail, which was shaped like a large cone, suddenly glowed blue, and released powerful currents of electricity. The blue bolts of lightning engulfed Zekrom in a crackling ball of blue, and hurtled down towards the pier.

"Damn!" Tyson swore. "That's Fusion bolt! Ash quick, grab Pikachu and run!" Ash wasted no time, and swiftly grabbed Pikachu. However, he wasn't fast enough. The Fusion bolt impacted the pier right behind the fleeing trainer, destroying the pier and exploding into a massive surge of electricity. The shockwave of the explosion sent both Tyson and Ash flying into the turbulent water, and the electricity would soon make short work of Ash. Acting quickly to save his trainer's life, Pikachu quickly absorbed the onrush of electricity, but due to being in the water, Pikachu short-circuited. Shrieking in pain, Pikachu fell unconscious.

"Pikachu!" Ash called in worry upon hearing his partner's agonized cry. Suddenly, Zekrom blasted out of the water with a roar, and fixed it's blazing red eyes on Ash. Said trainer knew he was in trouble. Pikachu was out, and he had no pokémon that could fight in a water environment and stand up to Zekrom. Tyson however, acted fast.

"Hydreigon, to the battlefront!" He called, and threw a pokeball. Letting out a beam of light, the pokémon that materialized was unlike anything Ash had ever seen. It had carbon black fur, blue skin, and a magenta underbelly. Magenta had flaps of skin that looked like petals surrounded its head. It had six thin wings, which it used to keep itself aloft. To Ash's amazement, the pokémon had two more heads on its arms instead of claws.

"Hydreigon, use Ice beam!" Tyson commanded, and Hydreigon let loose with a beam of freezing energy, striking Zekrom for serious damage. Roaring in defiance, Zekrom unleashed a torrent of green flames with a Dragonbreath attack.

"Hydreigon, dodge and use Draco meteor!" As ordered, Hydreigon flew out of the way of the incoming attack, then charged the ultimate dragon move. Firing a massive sphere of energy into the sky, the attack exploded into dozens of smaller orbs that impacted the area at high speeds. Zekrom was bombarded by quite a few of the meteors, and was obscured in smoke. Giving one last roar, Zekrom flew back into the clouds, and with a sonic boom, blasted across the sky, his tail leaving a trail of electricity in its wake. Ash and Tyson watched it fly off into the distance, then Tyson took action.

"Alright Hydreigon, get us to shore." Hydreigon swiftly grabbed Ash and Tyson, and brought the two to shore, where they were confronted by Ash's mother and professor Oak.

"My baby!" Cried Delia as she wrapped her son in a hug. "Are you alright sweetie?"

"I'm fine mom, but Pikachu here is in really bad shape." Ash replied.

"Then why are we standing around for?" Asked Oak, "We need to get to professor Juniper's lab immediately." Nodding in agreement, the group got into the professor's rented vehicle, and drove off for Juniper's lab. Ash was tense the whole way, his face set in a grim visage as he kept his eyes on the road to the lab, silently willing the trip to take less time. In ten minutes they made it to the lab. Ash leaped out of the car and dashed into the lab, Tyson and the rest of the group following soon after.

"Hello, professor Juniper, you here?" Ash called, and was met with a response.

"Hello, welcome to the Nuvema pokémon lab." Replied the professor as she rounded the corner. Then she noticed the state of Ash's Pikachu. "Oh my, what happened?" Ash made a brief recount of his encounter with Zekrom, and Juniper led him to the healing room.

"You were very lucky. Zekrom's Fusion bolt could've seriously injured you." Soon, Pikachu was hooked up to a healing machine, and one of the professor's assistants was running diagnostics.

"Hmm, it appears your Pikachu damaged its electrical system with an accelerated intake of electricity, along with a moderate short circuit."

"Will Pikachu be alright?" Ash asked with worry, and the assistant nodded.

"The damage isn't too severe, but he won't be able to use his electric attacks while he's healing. After he's completely healed he'll be as good as new." Ash was visibly relieved that Pikachu wasn't in any serious danger.

"However, for the duration of his recovery, Pikachu should not battle." Interjected Juniper. "If he battles, Pikachu could worsen the damage and may be permanently unable to use electric attacks." Ash became crestfallen at this. He wanted Pikachu to be fighting at his side at the start of his new journey, but now because of that encounter with Zekrom, Pikachu would be stuck in reserve while he recovered.

"How long will Pikachu need for recovering?" Ash asked.

"Most likely a month, maybe a bit less." Replied Juniper. Ash visibly slumped at that. A whole month without his best friend by his side.

"I'm going out for a walk. I need to clear my head." With that Ash headed out of the lab and into the surrounding woods, not knowing that he would soon meet a very special someone in them.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And done. I'm back everybody, just don't expect swift updates. I hope you all liked this chapter. I had the idea of this fic in my head for years and now I'm finally getting around to publishing it. Again, updates on my stories will be limited as I am currently focusing on searching for a new house/apartment. So what did you all think? Like it, love it, hate it? R&R please, and keep in mind that all flames shall be shredded and thrown in a taco. (Burp)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ash let out a sorrowful sigh as he aimlessly walked through the woods. His first ten minutes in Unova had turned into a disaster. Pikachu was now incapacitated for a month, and he could have possibly been reset again. Punching the thick trunk of a tree in frustration, Ash struggled to hold back tears.

'_Why? Why does Pikachu have to go through this every single time? Something always happens that causes Pikachu to lose the strength we always work so hard to build. Why can't we remain strong for once?' _Ash was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a pained cry ring throughout the forest. Being the kind of person who couldn't stand something or someone getting hurt, Ash rushed to the source of the cry, and what he came across both shocked and infuriated him. A group of about a dozen pokemon of the same species had surrounded and was ganging up on another pokemon, the same kind as the group, but with a difference. The coloring was completely different than those in the group. Where the group was red, this one was blue. Where the group had yellow fur, this one's was an off-white cream color. The mob of pokemon was ruthlessly assaulting the oddly colored pokemon, even though it had obviously been defeated. As recklessly as usual, Ash charged in, ploughed through the group of pokemon, and grabbed the injured pokemon, but that was as far as he got. As soon as the group recovered from their initial shock, they leaped at Ash en masse. Ash was immediately bombarded by fierce punches and kicks. The pokemon were also equipped with sharp claws, which they used to rake and tear at Ash's clothes and skin. With effort, the young trainer managed to break free from the mob, and made a dash for professor Juniper's lab, his tormentors in hot pursuit. After several close calls of getting pounced on, Ash had enough. Shifting the wounded pokemon in his arms, Ash freed up a hand and grabbed a pokeball.

"Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash shouted and threw the pokeball, which burst open to allow Sceptile to materialize.

"Sceptile cover me, we need to get this pokemon to safety. These other pokemon are beating on it way past defeat". Sceptile's eyes narrowed at this. To keep attacking a pokemon after it had fainted meant only one thing, they were trying to kill it. Sceptile immediately and easily intercepted and dealt with every attack directed at Ash, allowing the trainer to quickly cover the remaining distance. As soon as Ash left the woods and entered the vicinity of the lab, the pokemon mob immediately stopped their pursuit, though they still glared at Ash from within the trees. Quickly thanking and returning Sceptile, Ash dashed into the lab.

"Professor Juniper, I've got a pokemon here that needs serious help." Ash called, and professor Juniper immediately rounded the corner.

"Sweet Arceus, Ash, what happened to you?" said Juniper in surprise upon witnessing ash's current state.

"No time to explain professor, this pokemon is in serious danger." Indeed, the pokemon had fallen unconscious, and it's breathing had become much shallower and irregular. Upon seeing the pokemon in Ash's arms, Juniper's eyes widened.

"Good heavens, hurry Ash, we'll get it to the healing machine immediately." Ash then followed Juniper to the healing machine. Once everything was set up, Ash placed the pokemon into the machine, and soon the only sound was the constant hum of the machine as it worked to heal the pokemon within it.

"Alright Ash, it should be out of the woods now, but we'll need to leave it in the machine until it's fully healed, which will take a few hours." Said Juniper. "In the meantime, why don't you get changed and visit your Pikachu for bit, he woke up earlier while you were out." Nodding, Ash headed for the bathroom to change clothes and get his injuries bandaged. However, his mother spotted him.

"My Baby!" She screamed, wrapping Ash in a bone-crushing hug. "What happened? Are you all right? You're bleeding! Oh my poor sweet little baby!" It took ten minutes of constant reassurance that he was alright for Delia to let go, and even then she insisted that she would bandage him up. After getting his wounds treated and dressed and getting changed into a new pair of clothes, Ash entered the room Pikachu was recovering in.

"Pikapi." Said his starter in greeting.

"Hello to you too buddy. It must suck knowing you can't do anything for a whole month." Replied Ash.

"Pika." Pikachu answered mournfully, his eyes downcast and ears drooping.

"Hey, don't be like that buddy, unless you lost your power again?" Pikachu immediately shook his head. When he had lost his strength before it always felt like he had run for a very long time at first. All he felt right now was a lack of energy build-up due to his electrical system currently healing. Hope filled Ash's eyes at this.

"So you're still as powerful as before?" Pikachu nodded, and Ash smiled. "That's great buddy. Don't worry about a thing then, the month will be gone before you know it." Ash then hugged his best friend, earning a squeal of delight from the electric mouse.

"It's nice to know that your Pikachu will make a full recovery." Said Tyson, causing Ash to turn sharply to look at the fellow trainer, having not heard him approach.

"Tyson, where did you come from?" Asked Ash in surprise. Tyson went to an empty seat on the other side of the small room, sat down, and replied.

"Well how do I put it? Mom and Dad loved each other very much, so they decided…"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Not that kind of come from." Replied a blushing Ash, having not expected that kind of reply.

"Hehe, I'm just pulling your leg Ash. I was talking with one of Juniper's lab assistants, when I heard your mother scream about you being injured, and that got me worried if one of Zekrom's attacks had injured you, but had gone unnoticed due to the event pertaining to Pikachu. Then I saw the state you were in before and I got to ask, what happened?" Ash then recounted on what had happened during his cool down walk., started with how he had seen the strange pokemon getting ganged up on by it's fellows, to where he had grabbed it and made a mad dash for the lab.

"Okay Ash, it has to be said. That was the stupidest, most reckless thing I've ever heard anyone do. However, that was a good thing you did Ash, and my respect for you has risen up a few notches. Braving a pack of Mienfoo in order to save a life, not many would go that far for a pokemon."

"So it was called Mienfoo? What I don't get is why they were all beating it well past fainting?"

"Well Ash, I might have an idea, but that's all it is. What you need to understand is that pokemon are smarter than we give them credit for. If they had the ability or the desire to, they could easily create their own form of civilization. Pokemon are just as smart, if not smarter than us humans Ash, though there are some exceptions. Along with the positives of sentience though, pokemon also have the negatives just as we do. Like us, they too can be prejudiced and bigots. Unfortunately, unlike us, pokemon parents always raise their children in their beliefs, who in-turn raise their offspring in the same way they were. Soon this way of thinking becomes universal to a whole species of pokemon, and what we might consider wrong, could be perfectly acceptable to certain species. Take dragon types for example. Almost every species of dragon type pokemon believe that any of their kind that has an odd coloration is considered an ill omen, and as such must be driven out from the drove before they cause ruin. I think Meinfoo are the exact same in this view."

"But that's crazy." Retorted Ash, "Just because a pokemon is different in color, doesn't mean it's cursed or anything."

"I agree, but that is the way these species have come to view such things over the course of their existence. The world of pokemon isn't all sunshine and rainbows Ash. There are very dark things that go down in it that look nightmarish to us, but are perfectly reasonable and in fact, highly praised acts to certain species of pokemon. What I'm trying to say is, don't expect all pokemon to be caring towards each other."

"How do you know all this? I mean, your saying stuff that no researcher has even touched on, so how do you know all this stuff?" Tyson let out a sigh, and stayed silent for a moment in thought, then answered.

"I have a friend who has seen and been subjected to the darker side of the pokemon world. He told me all this and more."

"Who is he?"

That Ash, will be answered another time. Should we meet up again I'll let you know. However, I didn't come talk to you in order to shatter your innocence to the world of pokemon. I wanted you to know that I'm going to be heading home now, so I wanted to say goodbye. I've only known you for a few hours Ash, yet I can already say you're one of the best friends I've ever had." Then Tyson held out his hand, which Ash firmly grasped and shook.

"It's a shame you have to go, I really wanted to battle you." Said Ash, and Tyson smirked.

"Don't worry Ash, I have a feeling we'll meet up and have that battle. If you want to face me, make sure to come to my hometown of Opelucid city."

"I will, and I'll make sure to come at you with all I have. I'm taking this region by storm, and this time I'll be taking the league championship home." At this Tyson smiled.

"And I don't doubt you for a second my friend. However, Unova is not a region to be conquered easily. Don't expect the gym leaders to be weak Ash. Should they hear of your declaration, they will bring their full might to the battlefield. Are you sure you can fight that kind of power?" At this, Ash smirked.

"I have my pokemon. They are my friends, my partners, and with them, there is nothing I cannot do. The gym leaders here better bring their A-game, because I will not limit myself this time around." Tyson could practically feel the determination in Ash's words, and then remembered something he had been taught years ago.

"You know, there was something my grandfather once told me. Without conviction, there is no strength. Without determination, there is no power. And without the will to face even the most desperate odds, there is no victory. I never really understood it, until now. Keep that attitude Ash, and never let go of it. As long as you have it, even if you are defeated, you will never lose. Now unfortunately Ash, I have to get going. I honestly hope you come to Opelucid Ash, because I know for a fact you will be my greatest opponent." Tyson then rose from his seat, and headed for the door. Opening it, he stepped halfway through, but stopped for one final thing.

"See you later Ash."

"See you later Tyson." And with that, Tyson was out the door, and soon, out of the lab. Ash continued to sit beside Pikachu, then after ten minutes passed, he began to get up.

"Get better soon Pikachu. As soon as you've recovered, I'm going to make sure you're as strong as everyone else. If I want to conquer this region, I'm going to need your help. So get well as fast as you can, because we can't let setbacks like these stop us."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu replied in determination. Ash smiled, and left to check on the Mienfoo he had saved. Little did he know the consequences his actions this day had wrought. The ripples that had been made in his destiny's quiet river would soon become a glorious tidal wave in the oceans of fate.

….

With a waning thrum, the healing machine was powered down. Professor Juniper then reached in and lifted the now healed Mienfoo from it. Setting the martial arts pokemon on the floor, it immediately ran towards Ash and lay prostrate before him, startling everyone in the room.

"**Master." **The word was spoken in a feminine voice, which filled Ash's mind. Immediately recognizing it as telepathy, Ash looked down at the source of the voice.

"What do you mean master? I never captured you, so why do you call me that? Before you answer that though, I want to know something first. How is it that you know telepathy?" Gasps were heard all around when Ash said this.

"**My father was a Lucario. He taught me the ways of aura, and one of the things he taught me was how to speak through my aura." **Ash nodded at this. He remembered the Lucario from Cameron Palace and how it could do the same thing.

"**The reason I called you master, was because you came to my aid in my time of need. Furthermore, your blood was shed ensuring my safety, invoking a blood debt upon me. I can only repay this debt of blood by pledging myself to your service and doing whatever you desire of me to do." **Ash was shocked at this. This was something completely new to him. However, Ash was not going to let this opportunity slip by. A pokemon was laying before him, swearing herself to him. Ash did not miss the meaning of her words. He knew that when she said whatever he wanted, she meant _whatever _he wanted.

'_Well it's not like I'm going to use her for those purposes, but I know fighting types, and they will do whatever it takes to pay their debts. Besides, if I want to win this league I need as many pokemon as I can get. I cannot let this chance go by.'_

"I accept your oath of service." Replied Ash, though it felt a little strange for him to talk like that. "You can get up off the floor now." Immediately, the Mienfoo rose to her feet.

"Um Ash," Said professor Oak, "Just what is going on here?" Ash then filled them in on what had been said between him and Mienfoo.

"Interesting." Oak mused to himself over the information. Before more questions could arise however, the door to the lab slid open. In walked a boy with olive green hair and grayish-blue eyes. He wore a long-sleeve orange and black shirt, and blue jeans.

"Oh hello, welcome to the Nuvema pokemon lab. You must be Trip correct?" Said professor Juniper cheerfully.

"That's right. I came to get my starter pokemon and pokedex." Replied Trip. Nodding, professor Juniper beckoned to a door that led into the lab proper.

"Right this way please." Beckoned Juniper, and walked through the doorway, Trip following close behind. Ash decided to see what the Unovan starter pokemon were, and followed, picking up Mienfoo and placing her on his shoulder so she wouldn't get caught underfoot of the group. Entering the lab, Ash saw that Trip was taking pictures of the lab.

"Alright Trip, here are your choices for a starter." Said Juniper, and opened three pokeballs. In a flash of light, a small pig pokemon was revealed, and proceeded to snort embers from its snout in eagerness.

"Energetic little thing, aren't you." Ash said to it. The next pokemon revealed was an otter with a shell on its belly, and it looked up at Trip with its eyes shining in hope.

"Eager to make a friend I see." Remarked Ash, and the Pokemon nodded at him cutely. The final pokemon revealed was a snake with leaf-like limbs and a three pointed leaf on the tip of its tail, and held a confident, almost arrogant expression on its face.

"So, confident that you're the best huh?" Ash asked it, causing it to smirk and hold its nose up high.

"Here we have Tepig, the fire type," Said Juniper, pointing at the small pig pokemon. "Oshawott, the water type," again Juniper indicated the pokemon, pointing at the playful otter. "And finally, Snivy the grass type." After taking a photo of the three, Trip gazed at the three pokemon in thought, then decided.

"I choose Snivy." At this, Snivy's smirk grew wider, Tepig hung its head, and Oshawott… well Oshawott was just stone cold mortified.

"Hmm, I would've taken the Oshawott." Ash said to himself out loud, causing said pokemon to look at him with curious eyes.

"But it's not your choice, it's mine." Replied Trip.

"All right then Trip, here is your pokedex, and five pokeballs along with Snivy's assigned ball. Have a wonderful journey." Said Juniper, offering the aforementioned items to the newly minted trainer, which he took. As Trip turned towards the door, he caught sight of Ash, and what was on his shoulder. Trip then started walking around Ash while taking pictures of his Mienfoo.

"Not that I mind, but just why are snapping photos of my Mienfoo?" Ash asked the rookie trainer.

"I've never seen a Mienfoo with this coloration before." Replied Trip as he snapped a few more photos. "I'm documenting my entire pokemon journey, so seeing a pokemon this rare is an impressive find."

"Yeah, I just got her today actually." Replied Ash.

"Oh, then who's your starter?"

"My starter's a Pikachu, but he's recovering from an injury and can't use electric attacks."

"Pfft, day one and your pokemon's crippled? You or your Pikachu must suck, or probably both of you do." Ash went completely silent at that.

"Delia, normally I'd ask you to handle your son, but that boy has it coming." Said Professor Oak, while Delia could only nod. Finally Ash spoke.

"Okay then Trip, how 'bout a battle? Since my pokemon must suck it's not like you'll lose or anything." Trip should have paid attention to the slight tone of Ash's voice, but didn't, and would soon pay the price.

"Fine. Hopefully you can give me a challenge."

"Oh don't worry Trip, I can assure you this will be challenging. Professor, do you have a battlefield we can use." Now unlike Trip, Juniper caught the dangerous tone in Ash's voice, and from what she heard Oak say, knew things were going to get bad for Trip.

"Y-yes. It's just out back."

"Thank you professor. Well you heard her Trip, lets go." Soon the group reached the field, Trip on one side, Ash on the other, With Juniper acting as the referee. After explaining the usual rules, the battle was on.

"Snivy, come on out." Said Trip, releasing Snivy from his ball. "Lets make this battle short Snivy." Snivy let out a sound of agreement.

"Oh don't worry about time Trip. Just worry about how you're going to walk away from this with your dignity Intact! Pidgeot, in the air!" With that, Ash threw a pokeball skyward, and released his Pidgeot into the air. Trip could only stare in a mixture of shock, awe, and fear, and Snivy was not doing any better, if it's vigorous trembling was any indication.

"S-Snivy, use Leaf tornado." Snivy however, was too petrified to move.

"Pathetic. Pidgeot, Sky attack." Ash coldly commanded. Pidgeot surrounded itself in harsh blue light, and charged at the grass snake pokemon.

"Snivy, get out of the way." The command was futile, as Pidgeot had collided with Snivy before Trip could even finish. When the wind and dust died down, Pidgeot was sitting beside her trainer, and Snivy was out cold on the ground.

"S-Snivy…" Was all Trip could say, and then he heard the crunching of gravel and saw Ash walking towards him.

"Now you listen here rookie and listen good. I'm an easy-going guy so if you insult me, fine. I usually do something to deserve it anyway. But if you ever insult my pokemon again, I will make sure to humiliate you worse then what I've done here. Until you have gone through the things I have," Images of his misadventures with the legendaries he had seen flashed before Ash's mind as he stalked towards Trip, the rookie trainer fearfully stepping back. "Until your pokemon have accomplished what mine have," Once again the memories filled Ash's mind as he remembered his pokemon's triumphs, especially against the legendaries he had faced. Trip slipped on some loose gravel and hit the ground, and tried sliding back to put more distance between him and Ash. "And until you have shed the same amount of blood, sweat, and tears to get your pokemon as strong as I have mine," Ash was now in front of Trip, the rookie trainer's eyes roving the area for any means of escape. "Only then can you criticize them." Ash's foot slammed down on Trips chest, pinning him to the ground. "Don't you dare judge my pokemon like you know everything. Don't you dare assume it was just some common pokemon that injured my Pikachu. Remark about my pokemon only when you've seen them in battle for yourself. Until then Know… Your… Place… Rookie!" Each word was punctuated with Ash grinding his foot into Trip's chest. Finally, Ash brought his foot up off the terrified boy. "Get your Snivy and get out of my sight. Pidgeot didn't even charge her Sky attack, so your Snivy should be fine given some medicine and a good rest." Trip quickly recalled his Snivy, then ran for his life. Ash then let out the rest of his anger with a deep exhale. At this, Professor Oak thought it was safe to approach Ash.

"Now Ash, while that boy may have deserved it, that was un…" That was as far as Oak got.

"Don't you dare lecture me old man!" Ash snapped, then went back inside the lab. Soon Ash was back in Pikachu's room, the pokemon wondering what had his best friend so angry. After stewing in silence for a bit, Ash finally calmed down.

"Sorry about that, Pikachu. It's just that someone pushed my buttons is all." Ash sat down and told Pikachu what had happened. When he was done, the electric mouse was as angry as Ash had been.

"Easy there buddy, you're still recovering. I don't want you inadvertently making things worse over a blown gasket. But I know right. Who was he to say that you sucked? He had no idea what you could do, and he had no idea what injured you in the first place. You don't suck, heck, name another Pikachu that can trounce a legendary? It burns me to think that little arrogant snot thought he was entitled to judge you and I before he even knew what we were capable of." Finally, Ash wound down once his rant was finished. Then Mienfoo, who had leaped off her master's shoulder to avoid his fury, carefully entered the room.

"**Master, are you all right now?" **She quietly asked, and Ash nodded. Ash then beckoned Mienfoo to him.

"Hey Pikachu, I'd like you to meet the newest member of the team. Mienfoo, this is Pikachu, the first pokemon I received when I started my journey. After the two had greeted each other they struck up a conversation. Ash just let them talk for a while, then he remembered something.

"Oh, Mienfoo I forgot something." Mienfoo looked at Ash curiously as he rooted around in his pack for a bit, then brought out a metal red and white sphere.

"Okay Mienfoo, in order to make you mine officially, I need to capture you in this." Mienfoo nodded, and tapped the button on the pokeball, causing it to open and suck her inside, before closing again. It wiggled for a bit, then pinged, showing a successful capture. Ash immediately let the martial arts pokemon out.

"**Ugh, that was cramped and uncomfortable. Do I have to go in there again master?"**

"Not if you don't wish to. Now let's go, I've got to apologize and get registered for the Unova league. Nodding, Mienfoo climbed back on Ash's shoulder, and the two headed back to the lab to apologize.

…

After apologizing to both professors for his behavior, Ash was registered for the league.

"All right then Ash, here is your new pokedex, and six unasigned pokeballs." Said Juniper, offering both items to Ash.

"Thank you very much Professor. Replied Ash, accepting the proffered items.

"All right Ash, I've got it all set up for you. All your reserve pokemon will be staying here at the lab, and professor Juniper will be able to handle your transfer needs when they come. Now, don't worry about Pikachu as your mother and I will be taking care of him. As soon as he's battle ready, we'll give you a call on this." With that, Oak handed Ash what looked like a watch.

"What is it?" Asked Ash in puzzlement.

"That Ash, is an Xtranceiver. Think of it as a mobile phone. I must say I'm impressed with Unova's technology, these little gizmos are quite the convenience." Nodding, Ash strapped the Xtranceiver to his wrist.

"Okay, I'm all ready to go." Said Ash, and he hefted his bag onto his shoulders. Just as he was about to head for the door, something grabbed his leg. Looking down, Ash saw that it was Oshawott, the otter pokemon looking up at him with big adorable round eyes.

""Oshawott? What do you want?" Ash asked. Oshawott was trying to talk to him, but being a pokemon, Ash couldn't understand it. Luckily, he had a translator sitting on his shoulder.

"**Master, the Oshawott wishes to accompany us." **Replied Mienfoo.

"Really? Is that what you want Oshawott, to come with me?" Oshawott vigorously nodded, causing Ash to smile at the pokemon's enthusiasm.

"Okay then Oshawott. Just sit tight and let me talk to professor Juniper to see if I can take you." Getting Oshawott had been simple. Professor Juniper had gladly allowed Ash to take Oshawott, seeing as how he needed a trainer. Once Ash received the water type's ball from the professor, Ash recalled Oshawott, and headed out for Accumula.

…...

Ash was walking down route 1, amazed at all the unique wild pokemon he had never seen before.

"Wow, this region sure is amazing." The trainer and his pokemon continued to trek, until he caught sight of something large and purple hiding behind a bush. Ash raised an eyebrow at that; he knew that was not a pokemon.

"Okay, any reason why you're spying on me?" Asked Ash, causing the person in the bush to jump out in surprise.

"For your information I was not spying." Said the girl. She had a huge amount of purple hair, dark tan skin, and was rather small. Ash again raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, then what were you doing?"

"I uh… was looking for Axew."

"Kew!" Out of the girl's mane of hair popped out a little reptilian pokemon with small tusks poking out from its mouth.

"I can see why you needed to look for him. All that hair must make him easy to misplace." Ash chuckled at the girl's indignant 'Hey.'

"Jeez, poking fun at a girls looks, such a kid."

"If I'm a kid, you're an infant." Ash again chuckled at the girl's indignant look adorning her face. "You know, you haven't introduced yourself yet."

"Oh right, sorry. My name's Iris. I'm training to be the worlds greatest dragon master."

"A dragon master? Good luck with that kid, you're gonna need it with that attitude of yours."

"Just what's that supposed to mean? And who are you calling a kid, kid."

"The only kid I see around here is you kid, and what I mean is that with an attitude like that, you'll never accomplish your dream."

"Why you, I'll prove I can become a dragon master. I challenge you to a battle." Ash just rolled his eyes.

"Okay, one on one then?" Iris gave a nod.

"Axew take to the field." Iris commanded.

"Kew, kew." Axew leaped out of her hair and stood in front of Iris, at the ready.

"Mienfoo, you're up." Mienfoo leaped off of Ash's shoulder and got into her fighting stance.

"Now let's see what you can do." Said Ash as he scanned Mienfoo for her information.

"You mean you haven't checked what moves your pokemon knows? What a kid."

"I'm not worried. Just by looking at you I can tell you're a rookie trainer. Furthermore your Axew looks very young. Most likely he just hatched only recently, so he'll probably know only one move. Finally, I know that you call others kids so that you feel better about yourself and your own shortcomings. Ah there we go, very impressive move set Mienfoo." Mienfoo got a light blush from the praise

"**Thank you, master."**

"Grr, that's it. Axew use Scratch." Axew dashed at Mienfoo, claws bared, only for Ash to end it all with two words.

"Aura sphere." Before Axew could even react, an aquamarine ball of aura smashed into its stomach, sending it tumbling and rolling until it reached Iris in an unconscious heap.

"Oh no, Axew!" Iris exclaimed, looking over her little dragon worriedly.

"Like I said kid, good luck, because you're gonna need it."

"That was mean! I can't believe you did that to poor Axew." Ash just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If I recall, you insisted on the battle, you've got no one to blame but yourself."

"You didn't have to use such a powerful move on Axew though."

"Ugh, listen to yourself. And you want to be a dragon master? Grow up will you. If you keep babying your Axew there's no way it's going to get stronger. Dragons need to be relentlessly trained in endurance and brute force, yet you just let it ride along in your hair. All your doing is holding it, and yourself back. I don't have time for this. Go back home and cry for someone who'll actually listen." With that, Ash turned and continued up route 1. However, he noticed Iris following him.

"And what do you want?" Said Ash in exasperation.

"I want you to teach me." Replied Iris. Ash blinked, he hadn't been expecting that.

"No."

"What, why? You're strong, so I know you can teach me things. I want to get stronger, and I know you can help me do it."

"And that's one of the reasons why I won't."

"That makes no sense. Why won't you teach me if I want to get stronger?"

"Listen. Stop following me. If you're that desperate for training, then think about this question, what do we trainers do in pokemon battles? When you have an answer for me, come and find me, and if it's the right one, I'll show you some tips."

"That's easy. We're the ones who plan and strategize the battle for our pokemon."

"While that is in fact true, it's not the correct answer. Give it some thought." Ash then continued on his way, making sure he was not being followed. After a few more hours of walking, Ash finally made it to Accumula town.

"Ugh, finally. I thought I wasn't going to make it before it got dark." Ash saw that the sun was well touching the horizon. Ash entered the pokemon center and asked Nurse Joy if she could heal his team. Once his pokemon were being healed, Ash had a bite to eat at the cafeteria, and booked a room for the night. Once he got his pokemon back, he went to his room, changed to his sleepwear then flopped on the bed exhausted.

"Man, all that walking, and having to deal with that annoying girl Iris, really took all my energy." Ash said to himself, as he got comfortable on the bed. Turning his head to the right, he saw Mienfoo sleeping peacefully. Having her on his shoulder had helped take his mind off Pikachu, but Ash still felt a hollow feeling as he was traveling without his best friend and first pokemon. Mienfoo helped, but Ash dearly missed Pikachu.

'_I hope he recovers soon.' _Were Ash's thoughts as he fell into a quiet sleep.

…...

Ash awoke to the rays of light hitting his face and the sound of Pidove chirping on his windowsill. Checking the clock, it read eleven thirty am. The best part? No annoying wake up call from an impatient travelling companion. Ash got out of bed and changed into his traveling clothes, then he woke up Mienfoo, and they headed out of the center. Ash was heading for route 2, when he heard a couple of guys talking about something going on at the main square. Curiosity piqued, Ash headed to the main square, seeing quite the crowd had shown up. On a small hill that overlooked the crowd, ash saw a group of people parading around wearing what looked to be chainmail armor. Two banners fluttered on either side of the strange group, consisting of a black and white shield, with a large blue P superimposing it. A zigzagging blue line finished the banner design. Finally, the chainmail-wearing group formed a single row, and then with practiced precision, the two members in the middle stepped back and stood aside. From this newly created gap stepped forth a very odd looking man. He had long wavy mint green hair, and had a red lens covering his right eye. He wore a huge bulky robe that hid his entire body from view. The robe itself was weird, one half a royal purple, the other half gold. The neck hem was designed to look like castle battlements, and the same design on the banners was stitched into the center of his neck hem. Finally the man spoke.

"Attention everyone, I must first thank you all for bringing us your attention to this speech. It is most appreciated. Now then, I am Ghetsis. I come here representing team Plasma." Ash inwardly groaned at this.

'_Sweet Arceus, why does another one of these damn criminal teams always appear in every new region I visit?'_ Ash then returned to listening.

"Today, I want to talk to you all about pokemon liberation." Murmurs of confusion spread throughout the crowd. Ghetsis waited for the masses to be quiet, and once they were, continued. "Pokemon are radically different from us. They are unique beings with much hidden potential." Ghetsis began to pace, his voice gaining more passion as he spoke. "Yet we humans are constantly imposing our selfish beliefs upon them. We as society as a whole have made amusement in ordering pokemon around, bossing them about in battle while they take all the damage and do all the real work. Can anyone say there is no truth to what I say?" At this the crowd muttered to each other, no one able to find fault within the man's words. Ghetsis waited once more, then continued.

So ladies and gentlemen, I ask you all this question, what is our responsibility towards these wonderful beings called pokemon?" Again, the people were at a loss of what to say, until a single voice rang out from the crowd.

"Liberation!" Ghetsis nodded approvingly at this.

"Yes, that's exactly right, we must liberate the pokemon. Only then, and only then, can humans and pokemon be treated with equality." Ash snorted at that. If humanity were not to intertwine with pokemon, Arceus would have never allowed them to mingle in the first place. However, he saw the people in the crowd, their eyes on their pokeballs, and the looks on their faces.

"_Dear Arceus, these people are actually believing this guy. Well I do admit this guy has made some damn good points in his speech, but liberating pokemon? I've got to do something to stop this, but what? This Ghetsis has these gullible idiots by their heartstrings, what can I say that… that's it. Thank you Tyson."_

"Wait!" Ash called, and at once all eyes were on him.

"Hmm, you say something my young friend?" Ghetsis asked him.

"Yes. There are some things I can relate and agree to with your speech Ghetsis sir, specifically the parts of imposing our beliefs upon pokemon, and the fact that all we can really do in battle is order our partners to the best of our abilities while they are the ones taking the hits. However, I believe, no, I _Know _that liberation is not the answer." At this the crowd grew interested, and Ash knew there was no turning back. He was now battling Ghetsis, but not with pokemon, but with the man's weapon of choice, words. One slip up could lead to defeat.

"Well by all means, please, enlighten us. Tell us what must be done to reach equality. Team Plasma is always willing to listen." Ash took a deep breath, and organized his thoughts.

"What all of you must realize, is that the world of pokemon is not without it's darkness. There are species of pokemon out there that make it their life's mission to eradicate the other. Furthermore, has anyone heard of pokemon that have a coloration different from the norm?" Nods and calls of affirmative echoed through the crowd. Ash then continued.

"Well, did you know that some species of pokemon, including practically every dragon type species, views offspring with unique colors bringers of disaster? They cast these pokemon out, as infants, barely able to fend for themselves, simply because they are different." Gasps and cries of shock could be heard throughout the throng, but Ash wasn't finished. "That ladies and gentlemen, is where we humans come in. We teach the pokemon we have caught the true right and wrongs of their world. If a trainer worked hard enough at it, he could get a Zangoose and Seviper to work reasonably well with each other. They wouldn't be best friends, but neither would they be mortal enemies trying to disembowel the other while he's still alive. We teach pokemon the proper way to live, we teach them, and in return they offer us companionship. Can anyone say I'm wrong?" The crowd was silent. No one spoke. Then Ghetsis spoke.

"What you say boy makes a great deal of sense. However, how do you know the cause for this lies with humanity, or the invention of the pokeball?" Ash stayed silent, it was Ghetsis' turn now. Ghetsis took the silence as permission to continue, and did so.

"The pokeball. Something all of us use on pokemon. They are what we need if we wish to make a pokemon our friend. However, what if the pokeball mind control pokemon to be completely obedient to those who capture them? How do we know if our friendships with our pokemon are truthful, or simply hollow lies?" Ash then spoke up.

"If pokemon were mind controlled they would be completely obedient to their trainer, however, I have seen many instances where this is not the case. I myself am a pokemon trainer, and I assure you all, I've raised my fair share of individuals who refused to listen. I would order them, but they would brush me off. Does that mean they were being mind controlled?" Mutters rang through the crowd, and Ash could se they were starting to come to his side.

"Perhaps they resisted it. I assume that the pokemon you speak of are now fiercely loyal to you? Perhaps they resisted the mind control at first, leading to their disobedience."

" If that's the case, then pokemon would wish to remain by their trainer's side to the exclusion of all else correct?" Ash looked around, getting nods from everyone. "Then let me tell you all something. There was once a boy who caught a Caterpie, which quickly evolved and became a Buterfree. This boy loved his Butterfree and the Butterfree loved his trainer. This boy raised and trained and cared for his Butterfee for months. His Butterfree was with him through thick and thin, be it camping in the woods, fighting in pokemon battles, or just relaxing together and enjoying each other's company. Then one day, the Butterfree found another willing to be his mate. He loved his trainer dearly, but he still wanted to be with his mate even more so. The boy saw his Butterfree had become sad about something, so he asked him what was wrong, and so his Butterfree told him, and through their deep bond the boy understood his pokemon. When his Butterfree had told him, the boy became very sad. He didn't want his best friend to go, but he also wanted his best friend to be happy. And so the boy made his descision. He told his Butterfree, who he had spent so long with, to go and be happy. With that, the boy released his pokemon, and the Butterfree left with his mate, never to be seen by the boy again." Sniffs and sobs could be heard throughout the crowd. Ash looked around, and the only dry eyes were those of Team plasma, and even then a few of them were blowing their noses.

"While I will admit, that story was touching, and proudly shows what Team plasma strives for, how can we be certain it's real, and not a work of fiction simply woven to counter an argument?" Ash smirked.

"Because Ghetsis, that boy was me." Gasps were heard throughout the crowd. Ash then reached into his backpack and pulled out a photo, a photo of him and his Butterfree, which he held in the air for all to see.

"So Ghetsis, if pokeballs do brainwash the pokemon they capture, then why is it that my Butterfree wanted to leave me for his mate? If he were brainwashed, wouldn't he not have stayed by my side? That's why I say to you all, liberation is not the answer. Instead, we must put our pokemon before ourselves, like I did my Butterfree. Only then can we truly understand one another." The crowd was silent, but Ash saw he had them. Soon everyone had re-clipped their pokeballs to their belts and had no intentions of removing them. Ghetsis himself was, for the first time, at a loss for words. His own speech had been thrown right back in his face, with interest. Then Ghetsis chuckled, then laughed.

"Oh my boy, you are a very interesting person indeed. Perhaps you are right, perhaps that may be the way to equality. Everyone, I beseech you all, please consider what has been said on both sides today and consider the proper way to approach the bond between us and our pokemon. That is all, thank you for your time." With that, the chainmail wearing members of Team Plasma gathered their banners, and in perfect synch, formed a line on either side of Ghetsis, while one man stood in front of him, and the party strode out of Accumula. Soon the crowd dispersed and people went back to their regular lives.

"Well girl, our work here is done. Hopefully that will put a stop to that whole pokemon liberation nonsense." Said Ash. Mienfoo responded in her native tongue. Ash was about to head down Route 2, when someone suddenly called out to him.

"Wait!"

…

**A/N:**

**And done. My fingers, my poor fingers. That was the longest chapter written by me, ever. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as I put a lot of effort into it. Some of you might not like what's in here, saying it takes away from the purity of the pokemon world. If you feel that way, I don't blame you, and I will not force you to read my fics. So what do you all think? Like it/Love it/Hate it? R&R Please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Okay, before I start anything I want to address a few things and questions my reviewers have been asking me. First, thank you all who reviewed last chapter. I was scared at first that the darker themes I was introducing into the story were going to put readers off, but you guys loved it. Now then, onto the questions.**

**Question 1) Tyson: A few people asked about him in their reviews. No, he is not in any way connected to the other two Tysons Ash fought in the anime. I came up with the name as a play-off of my own as I didn't want to make what people would accuse to be a self insert character. Now, the questions all wanted to know the same thing, is Tyson going to make frequent appearances in the fic? The answer is definitely not. Tyson is only going to make two more appearances, and both of them are almost at the end of the fic. I find that OC's absolutely have to be used in moderation; else they will go Mary Sue very fast, and no one likes a Mary Sue. Of course, there are authors who have posted fics that are exceptions to this rule, but that's beside the point. Ash will run into Tyson again much later in the story.**

**Question 2) Legendaries: We all know the luck of Ash Ketchum when it comes to legendaries, and a couple of people are asking if he's going to capture any. The answer is yes. He will capture four in this story, which ones will not be said. Now before any of you go on a huge rant saying four is way too much, let it be known that Ash will not be keeping them. He catches these legendaries for reasons other than battle, and once those reasons are resolved he will release them back into the wild.**

**Question 3) Ash's team: A bunch of people were asking questions about this. Yes, Ash is in possesion of most of his pokemon, Charizard included. Ash will constantly be rotating his pokemon team, making sure he keeps all his reserve pokemon in top form should he ever require them, so you'll be seeing alot of old faces regularly. Also, Ash will be catching alot more pokemon than he did in canon. he'll have a good amount of his canon pokemon team from Unova, but he will have a lot more pokemon that I believe he should have captured. Also, a lot more evolutions will occur, both from new and old team members.**

**Now that those pressing questions have been answered, enjoy the chapter, and forgive me for taking so damn long. I only just got a new computer recently.**

…

"Wait!" The call stopped Ash in his tracks. Turning around, he saw a young man, about eighteen years old, hurrying towards him. Once the man was close enough he launched into conversation.

"Your pokemon, just now it was saying…" He said, before Ash interrupted.

""Whoa buddy, slow down there for a second, your talking way to fast. Now what's this about Mienfoo? You actually understood her when she spoke like that?" At this, the man's face fell somewhat.

"So you can't hear them either, how sad". At this, Ash smirked.

"I never said that. I'm just surprised you can understand them in their native way of speech. The only way I can understand Mienfoo like that is if she uses aura to telepath what she wants to say to me." The man blinked in shock.

"Well that is interesting. My name's N."

"N? Just N?" N nodded, causing Ash to quirk an eyebrow. "All right, so why did you hail me down for?"

"Well, I was impressed by that counter argument you gave Ghetsis. He made some powerful points, but you were able to do the same. I've never heard of someone so dedicated to their pokemon, and it makes be believe there just might be hope yet."

"What do you mean by that."

"I've been around a bit, and I've heard the pokemon of trainers. They say and act like they're content, but in their eyes I could see the suffering. Pokemon are being hurt by humans." Soon Ash and N were deep in heated argument. N impressed Ash, the man constantly brought up scientific formulae in his argument that he had made himself. This spoke wonders of his education. Ash followed perfectly, and countered with his own arguments of past experiences with his pokemon. Mienfoo could only look back and forth between her master and the strange man, unable to follow the argument much less contribute. As they argued, Ash could see that N was all for pokemon liberation, but he was doing so because he believed that humans only hurt pokemon in the end. Ash however, was on the other end of the spectrum, saying that by being together pokemon and humans could neutralize each other's faults and help each other become stronger. The two also agreed with each other on certain things, like if trainers put their pokemon first, there would be far less strife. However, their heated argument was brought to a close when Ash noticed something. Checking the time, it read four forty five pm.

"Whoa, where does the time go? Sorry N I have to get going, it was pretty interesting talking to you."

"Wait a moment." Replied N, halting Ash, "I wish to hear the voice of your pokemon in a battle. When they battle, pokemon let their true feelings of their trainers be known, so I'd like to hear what your Mienfoo has to say about you."

"Well if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll have. Mienfoo, you're up." Mienfoo immediately leaped off her master's shoulder and took a ready stance.

"Assist me my friend." Called N as he threw a pokeball, and in a burst of light a Zorua appeared. Ash idly wondered if it was the same Zorua he had met in Sinnoh, but disregarded it when he saw the Zorua didn't make a single gesture of remembrance.

"Zorua, use Dark pulse." N commanded, and with a yip, Zorua fired a double helix beam of black energy.

" Mienfoo, dodge and use Scratch."

"Foo!" Was the reply, and Mienfoo shot towards the Zorua at impressive speeds, skillfully weaving around the attacks fired at her. Reaching her target, she lashed out with her sharp claws, scoring two powerful strikes on the Zorua.

"Zor!" The pokemon cried in pain, and tried to retaliate with its own scratch attack, but Mienfoo had already back flipped out of the illusion fox pokemon's range and returned to Ash.

"More!" N cried out. "Let me hear the voice of your pokemon. Zorua, use Shadow ball!" Zorua immediately fired a ball of ghostly energy at Mienfoo. The artial arts pokemon tried to dodge, but was too slow and was struck hard by the attack, kicking up a dust cloud.

"Mienfoo, Aura sphere." Ash called, and with a call of acknowledgement, an aquamarine ball of aura rocketed out of the dust and smashed into Zorua face first, sending it tumbling and skidding straight into its trainer's feet. The illusion fox pokemon proved to be tougher than expected, as it got back up and stood ready for its master's next order.

"Zorua, Flamethrower." Called N, but both trainer and pokemon were unprepared for what came next.

"Mienfoo, use Me first." A white ball of light struck Zorua, and then returned and struck Mienfoo, who then spat out a powerful stream of fire and struck Zorua, who was not prepared for the speed of the attack. When the flames were no more, Zorua was singed and unconscious. N returned Zorua, and stayed silently solemn, then finally spoke.

"Never did I expect a pokemon to say such things." Ash raised an eyebrow at this. "As long as they are confined to pokeballs, pokemon can never become perfect beings." N continued, "I need to change the way things are for pokemon, because they are my friends." With that, N walked away, his posture suggesting him to be in deep thought. Mienfoo returned to her master's shoulder, watching the green haired trainer leave.

"What did you say?" Ash asked her, and she shrugged.

**"I only said that I was happy as your pokemon and wished to stay by your side."**Mienfoo responded.

"That's all? Then why did N act like his entire world was flipped upside down?" Mienfoo could only shrug. Sighing to himself, Ash decided to see what the town of Accumula had to offer. Ash and Mienfoo were browsing the various shops they came across, when they came to a building that looked very interesting. It looked something like a pokemon gym, but Ash was pretty sure that the first gym was in the next town over.

"Hmm, I wonder what this place is? Should we check it out Mienfoo?" Ash asked her. Getting a nod in response, Ash walked through the automatic doors and into the building. Once inside they were greeted to the sight of a large arena dominating the center of the room, a pokemon battle currently being fought on it.

"Welcome." Said a voice behind Ash, cuasing him to jump slightly. Turning quickly, Ash came face to face with a broad, well built man. he had short dark grey hair and a large mustache, he wore a black martial arts uniform with a dark red collar, along with a matching color sash and wristguards.

"Who are you? And what is this place?" Ash asked.

"Don George is the name, and I run the place, Accumula city's battle club." Ash raised an eyebrow at this.

"My name's Ash Ketchum, and this place is the battle club?" He asked, getting a nod from Don George.

"Yes. A battle club is a facility that provides battling and training services to trainers. The place is a way for local trainers to invite each other for battle." Don George then led Ash to a set of computer terminals. "These terminals will tell you who is in the area, you can then link your Xtranceiver to call them for a battle." Ash scrolled through the list of available trainers in the area, though none really caught his eye. he noticed Trip was in the area, but knew the rookie wouldn't be a challenge. Turning his attention back to the battle, he saw the two battling pokemon were in the final stretch of their battle. Taking out his pokedex, he scanned the first pokemon, which looked like an evolution for Oshawott. His assumption was proven right when the pokedex spoke.

**'Dewott, the Discipline Pokemon, and the evolved form of Oshawott. With strict training it develops its dual scalchop technique. No two Dewott use the exact same scalchop technique.' **Ash then scanned the other pokemon, the pokedex responding with a beep. **'Servine, the Grass Snake Pokemon, and the evolved form of Snivy. It uses swift sliding movements to confuse its foes. They avoid attacks by sinking into the shadows of thick foliage, and retaliate with powerful whipping attacks.' **The battle was then brought to a close when the Dewott used its scalchops to land a powerful blow on the Servine, knocking it out. The defeated pokemon's trainer then ran up to it, asking it if it was all right, to which the Servine responded to with a weak affirmative. The trainer picked up his pokemon and ran out of the battle club, heading for the pokemon center.

"You know, I've never seen a Mienfoo with those colors before. I've heard about uniquely colored pokemon and how they're stronger than normal." Remarked Don George, glancing at Ash's Mienfoo.

"Is that true?" Asked the Dewott's trainer, who Ash could tell was itching for a fight withn a strong opponent.

"Not really," Replied Ash, "the coloration of a pokemon doesn't make it stronger than the rest of its species naturally. A pokemon only gets stronger through hard work and training." Don George nodded in agreement of Ash's statement.

"Is your Mienfoo strong?" Asked the trainer.

"She has a bit of experience and knows a few good moves, but honestly i don't think she's experienced enough to take on your Dewott. However, I have a pokemon that would be perfect for your Dewott. He needs more battle experience, and he's naturally resilient." The trainer grinned at this.

"Alright then, let's battle."

"Sure thing. However, I require a few minutes to get him transferred over onto my team." The trainer nodded, and Don George directed him to the transfer machine. Ash activated his Xtranceiver and called Professor Oak, who picked up after three rings.

"Ah, hello there Ash. What can I do for you?" Asked the professor.

"Hello Professor Oak, I need to swap Sceptile with Gible if you don't mind." Professor Oak nodded and went to fetch the requested pokemon. After a few minutes he returned, a pokeball in hand.

"All right Ash I have gible right here. You know what to do." With a nod, Ash placed Sceptile's ball in the machine, and in seconds it was swapped with Gible's ball.

"Thanks professor. Tell my mom I said hi."

"Will do Ash, take care." And with that the connection was cut. Ash then went and took his place on the field.

"All right trainers, let the battle begin." Said Don George, acting as referee for the fight.

"Dewott, let's do this!" Yelled Ash's opponent, and the trainer's Dewott leaped onto the field.

"Gible, take the field!" Ash commanded, throwing Gible's ball. With a burst of light, the land shark pokemon was revealed.

"Dewott, use Water gun" Dewott immediately fired a pressurized stream of water from its mouth.

"Gible, dodge and use Dragon pulse!" Gible quickly ducked under the Water gun, and fired a sea green ball of draconic energy, scoring a direct hit to the Dewott's stomach.

"Dewott, get in close with Razor shell!" Snatching the twin scalchops holstered on its legs, Dewott charged energy into them, forming twin crescent blades, and dashed towards Gible at impressive speeds.

"Gible, Dodge the attack with Dig!" Gible responded a moment too slow however, and was struck dead on with the Razor shell attack, sending him flying back towards his trainer. Being part ground, Gible took more damage than a normal dragon type would have, but the land shark pokemon wasn't down yet. Recovering in mid flight, Gible used dig the instant he hit the ground, rapidly burrowing beneath the field.

"All right, Gible, use Dragon pulse once more!" Dewott was once again struck by the sphere of draconic energy, the attack striking it directly from below. While the discipline pokemon recovered from the blow, Gible leaped out of the hole and slammed into his opponent, sending the water type flying.

"Dewott, use Water gun!" Dewott immediately righted itself in midair and fired the attack as soon as he landed on the ground. Gible who was not expecting such a quick recovery, took the full brunt of the water attack in the face. When the deluge ended, Gible was still standing, but was gasping in exhaustion.

"Ok Gible, time to end this. Use Draco meteor!"

"What!" Shouted not only Ash's opponent, but a spectator of the fight as well. Sparing a glance to the new arrival, Ash saw it was the girl he had met yesterday, Iris if he remembered correctly. Her mouth was agape in shock, clearly not expecting his Gible to know the most powerful dragon move of all. Gible was surrounded in a reddish orange glow, and an orange ball of pure power formed in it's mouth. With a cry, it fired the large ball of energy straight up into the air, and upon reaching the pinnacle of its ascension, it exploded into a barrage of smaller orbs that fell towards the wide eyed Dewott.

"Dewott, Dodge!" Commanded the opposing trainer, and although Dewott made a valiant effort in avoiding the attack, he was quickly struck by the barrage of meteors. When the smoke and dust cleared, Dewott was flat on the ground, out cold.

"Dewott is unable to battle, victory of this match goes to Ash Ketchum and his Gible." Said Don George. Ash's opponent ran up to his fallen pokemon.

"Dewott, are you ok?" The discipline pokemon managed to groan out an affirmative. After returning his defeated pokemon, the trainer thanked Ash for the battle and ran off to the pokemon center.

"That was amazing!" Squealed Iris as she ran up to Ash. "Your Gible was awesome, I couldn't believe it could use Draco meteor! Please, teach me!"

"Calm down kid, I'm right in front of you so there's no need to shout." Responded Ash, smirking when he got a riled up hey for the kid comment. When she had calmed down, Ash continued. "Now then, I believe I left you with a question the last time we met. Do you have the answer?" Iris bit her lip, and after a few moments of thought, spoke.

"I think I do. We do nothing. We can train a pokemon, we can guide it in battle, but in the end all we're doing is standing back as our pokemon are doing all the work." A spell of silence crept by, and Iris was afraid she had answered wrong.

"That Iris, is the correct answer." Replied Ash, surprising Iris. "Now then, I believe I told you I would give you some training advice. Don George, you said this place offered training facilities?"

"Indeed it does. Follow me you two." Don George led them to a door, and after punching in a code on the keypad, opened the door and beckoned them inside. Upon entering the room Ash was impressed by what he saw. The room was filled with all sorts of training equipment ranging from treadmills, to punching bags.

"Perfect. Ok Iris, how many pokemon do you have?" Iris looked hesitant.

"Well, I have Axew, obviously, and then there's my Excadrill." Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion at the change in her tone.

"You say it like it's a bad thing." Replied Ash, causing Iris to let out a sigh.

"Here, I'll show you what I mean." With that, Iris let out her Excadrill. When it appeared, Ash saw the position it was in.

"Excadrill is always like this, and no matter what I do, he'll never listen, he'll just stay like this." Said Iris, gesturing to Excadrill's dormant state.

"How did you meet him." Asked Ash. He had an idea of why Excadrill was like this, but needed Iris to confirm it.

"To be honest, Excadrill is actually my first pokemon. I met him when I was playing with the pokemon in the forest surrounding my hometown. He was stealing food from a family of Patrats, so I challenged him. Every time I tried to swing into him though, he always knocked me away with Metal claw. Finally, after quite a few tries, I outsmarted him and he got tangled up in a bunch of vines. Problem was though, the vines couldn't support his weight, and he was dangling over a cliff. Just as the vines snapped and he started to fall, I managed to grab him, saving his life. Ever since then, we were always together. He and I would always get into battles against other villagers, and we would always win them. It was during the final round of a battle tournament when he evolved and was able to bring down our opponent's Druddigon. It was after that fight that we met Unova's dragon master Drayden. I challenged him to a battle, thinking Excadrill would win, but I was wrong. Excadrill was defeated like he was nothing, and ever since then, he's been like this." Ash inwardly cursed, his theory was wrong. This was not like Charizard at all, and he had no idea how to fix it.

"Well Iris, I'm at a loss. I'm unsure how to solve this problem. For now though, let's focus on Axew. What moves does he know?"

"Well, he can do Scratch easily enough, it's Dragon rage that gives him trouble though."

"Why, what happens?"

"I can't show you here. The results are a bit err... explosive."

"That would be problematic. I'll take you around to the back." Said Don George and beckoned the two over to a door on the other side of the room which lead outside. Iris nodded and was about to recall Excadrill, when Ash stopped her.

"Hold on, let's leave him in here for now. After we assess Axew's problem with Dragon rage we'll come back." Reluctantly, Iris nodded, and followed Don George out to the back field.

"Mienfoo, can you stay and talk to Excadrill please. I want to know why he won't listen to Iris." Ash asked his Mienfoo, who nodded.

**"I'll see what I can do master." **And with that she hopped off her trainer's shoulder, and walked over to Excadrill. Ash then headed out to the back after Iris and Don George.

"Hey, where's your Mienfoo?" Asked Iris.

"She's talking to Excadrill. Now then, let's see Axew's Dragon rage."

"Okay, here goes nothing." Iris then brought Axew out of her hair and set him on the ground. "Okay Axew, use Dragon rage." Axew nodded, and started building up the energy. Just as it was nearing completion, Axew seemed to hiccup and snap his mouth shut, causing an explosion. When the dust cleared, Axew was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, mildly embarrassed by his failure to perform the move.

"Okay Iris, I think I know the problem." Said Ash, getting Iris' attention. "Axew is making the attack unstable, which causes him to lose control of the attack and causes it to explode. The only thing he can do to solve this problem is to keep practicing the move until he gets it down."

"I agree with Ash, at this point, your Axew can only get better through practice." Affirmed Don George. Iris nodded, happy to know the solution to her Axew's problem.

"Okay then, let's get back to Excadrill." Said Iris, and she went back inside, Ash and Don George following close behind. Once they returned, Mienfoo returned to her perch on her master's shoulder.

"Did you find anything out?" Ash asked her, getting a nod in response.

"**I asked him why and he said this, 'How can I, after she deliberately got herself in deeper than she could handle, giving me my most humiliating defeat ever.' Judging from what he said, and the emotions he gave off, the Excadrill greatly mistrusts the girl's judgement in battle, and is ashamed of how easily he was defeated by his opponent."**

"Thank you Mienfoo. I'll let Iris know." Ash then turned his gaze over to Iris, who was trying, and failing, to get Excadrill to open up. "Hey Iris, I think I know why Excadrill wont listen to you." At this, Iris gave Ash her undivided attention. "The problem is you Iris. When you challenged Drayden, you knew how experienced he was, yet you fought him anyway. Due to your misjudgement, Excadrill was laughably defeated. You shamed him greatly with that defeat, now he completely mistrusts your judgement lest you screw up again and humiliate him further." Iris was shocked at this. She had never truly realized how badly she had hurt Excadrill with that defeat. Looking back upon that day, Iris realized Excadrill must have known that Drayden's Haxorus was too superior an opponent to defeat, yet she threw him into that fight anyway.

"How can I get Excadrill's trust back?" She shakily asked. Ash let out a sigh.

"Honestly Iris, I don't know. This whole thing started years ago, and not once has this issue been resolved. There's quite obviously a rift between you two, and it's been there so long that healing it might be impossible at this point. The least you can do is sincerely apologize to your Excadrill. Let him know you never meant to hurt him and that you won't do it again. It might not fix everything, but it will help." Ash then started to leave, much to Iris' confusion.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asked.

"I told you I'd give you training advice, and that's what I've done. It's up to you now to take my advice and get stronger. I'm not going to hold your hand Iris. I'll point the path out for you, but I won't take you with me down mine." With that, Ash left the training room and went back to the battle room. A battle was currently taking place, piquing Ash's interest. The fight was between a Tepig, and a pokemon he didn't recognize. Pulling out his pokedex, he pointed the machine towards the unfamiliar pokemon.

**'Deerling, the Season Pokemon. Deerling's fur changes in both color and scent due to the shifting weather the yearly seasons bring.' **Putting away his pokedex, Ash watched the battle. It was obvious the Deerling was more experienced than the fire type, and sure enough, with a powerful Jump kick attack, the grass type easily beat the fire type. The deerling's trainer smirked and praised his Deerling for a job well done, while the Tepig's trainer berated the fire pig pokemon. The guy's words struck a chord in Ash, as they sounded way too familiar.

_'This guy sounds a lot like Paul. No that isn't right, Paul would just say a single scathing remark. This guy is just verbally lashing his Tepig. I swear, this guy reminds me of someone, but who?' _As Ash pondered, he saw the trainer return his Tepig, and walk out of the battle club. Ash followed the trainer from a safe distance and watched as the jerk released his injured Tepig. He then continued his verbal abuse on it and after a few minutes, began to walk away. The Tepig tried to follow, but the trainer grabbed it, and proceeded to tie the poor pokemon to a post. The Tepig desparately tried to free itself, but it was futile, and the trainer was soon gone. Seeing what happened, Ash went to go untie the pokemon. Upon reaching the Tepig, the pokemon began to cower in fear, but was soon calmed when Ash began to lightly stroke the Tepig's head.

"Hey, it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you." Ash soothed, slowly getting the Tepig to relax. Soon Ash started to untie the fire pig pokemon from it's binds. As soon as it was free though, Tepig rocketed off after it's old trainer before Ash could stop it.

"Darn it. If that Tepig goes after that jerk, there's no telling what'll happen. I've got to stop it." With that, Ash ran after Tepig, hoping to get to Tepig before more serious harm would befall the pokemon. After fifteen minutes of running, Ash cursed. Tepig was with his old trainer, and was being held by the scruff of his neck. Hiding behind a tree, Ash listened in on what was happening.

"I thought I told you to get lost. It seems no matter what I do you don't get the message, so I'll explain it really simple so your thick head can understand. I don't want you. You're weak, you're useless, and you eat more than you're worth. I don't want to see you ever again." Tepig was in silent shock, tears dripping from its eyes. "Now, to make sure you don't start following me again." The trainer started cutting through the woods, Ash trailing behind him, and soon came to a fast moving river. "Perfect." said the trainer, and held the now terrified Tepig over the rushing water. "Now take a swim and never come back!" The trainer hollered, throwing the Tepig in his hand. Screaming in terror, the Tepig hit the water with a splash, before resurfacing, thrashing and flailing like mad to stay afloat. The water's current then swept him up, sending the pokemon away. Ash wasted no time, and started running after Tepig the moment he passed by. Once he had a clear view of Tepig, Ash took off his pack and leaped into the water, Mienfoo right behind him. Just then, Tepig was pulled under, and wasn't resurfacing. Ash immediately dove under the surface, and saw what happened. Tepig was being attacked by a school of fierce fish pokemon. The water pokemon were ramming Tepig with Take down, and it was obvious the fire type had taken in water and was drowning. Moving quickly, Ash broke through the school and grabbed Tepig. However, just like the Mienfoo pack yesterday, The school recovered from the surprise and attacked. Back on land, it wasn't very difficult to avoid the Mienfoo lat time, but in the water was another story. Ash tried to swim away, but the fish pokemon, Basculin if he was hearing it right, would always be faster. Suddenly, a group of the Basculin were beaten back by a barrage of aquamarine Aura spheres. Turning his head, Ash saw Mienfoo charging more Aura spheres to fire. Ash then had enough time to call out Oshawott. Once the otter was released his first instinct was to explore and play in the water, but when he took stock of the situation he immediately became serious. Charging up Razor shell, Oshawott and Mienfoo went on the offensive. Now that the Basculin school was occupied, Ash was able to get to shore. Once he was back on solid ground, he recalled Oshawott, and in the school's confusion of having one of their opponents vanish, Mienfoo was able to get to shore. As soon as Ash saw that Mienfoo was safe and back on his shoulder, he immediately started treating treating Tepig, thanking Brock for teaching him during his Sinnoh journey. After that incident with Pachirisu, Brock had taught both Ash and Dawn in first aid for pokemon, and had also taught Ash some specialized treatments for specific types. Once Ash had expelled all the water from the fire type's lungs and made sure the pokemon was stable, he immediately scooped the small pokemon up and rushed back to Accumula. Once he was back in the town, he made a beeline straight for the pokemon center, and was soon inside in minutes. After explaining the situation to Nurse Joy and placing Tepig into her care, Ash sunk down into one of the waiting room chairs and began to wait for news on Tepig's health. Ten minutes of waiting left Ash feeling very bored, so he began to think back on his journey throughout the regions. He began to think back to the beginning and let it play out like a movie. He sighed in nostalgia as he saw the memories roll down past his mind's eye, meeting Pikachu, protecting the then stubborn mouse from an angry flock of Spearow, his victories and losses against the gym leaders, meeting Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.

_'That's who the damn jerk reminded me of. Throwing that Tepig into a river, this guy is the Unova Damian.' _After mentally noting to make sure to punch that guy earlier in the face next time they crossed paths, Ash went back to his walk down memory lane. He remembered his adventures in the Orange Islands, meeting Lapras, triumphing over the unique gyms in the league, helping Lugia bring down Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos, and finally overcoming all obstacles and winning the league. His memories took him through Johto, remembering all the times he had there, both good and bad. Fighting a psychically created Entei, saving Celebi, his adventure in Altomare.

_'Come to think of it, how are they all doing back in Altomare? I've told a lot of people and pokemon I would visit again, but to be honest, it always slipped my mind. Maybe I'll go back to Altomare to visit them when I'm done the Unova league.' _Making sure to keep that in his head, Ash's memories once again started sweeping him away. He saw Johto pass by and Hoenn take its place. Meeting May and Max, and all the fun adventures the group had. Meeting Jirachi, stopping team Aqua and Magma, and witnessing the battle between Deoxys and Raquaza in the tech advanced LaRousse City.

"Trainer Ash ketchum to the counter, please." Nurse Joy's voice snapped Ash back to the present. With a sigh, he got up and walked up to the counter, the nurse flashing him a kind smile.

"Here you are Ash, Tepig is fine." Ash thanked the nurse, and took Tepig from her. Bringing the fire type outside the pokemon center, Ash set the fire pig pokemon gently down on the ground. The Tepig had a depressed, defeated look on its face, something Ash felt he needed to correct.

"Hey, there's no need for that face." Ash said, attempting to cheer the Tepig up. "Just because that guy threw you away doesn't mean you're worthless. I bet you can be the strongest ever, you just need someone who can train you right. So don't go feeling glum, if anything it's that jerk who's the worthless one. All those guys care about is external power. What they don't know is that the truly powerful pokemon are the ones like you, the ones that need training. Because in the end, those who train to attain their power become more powerful than any of those other pokemon who only fluant their natural strength." Tepig had listened to Ash's little speech, and his mood rose a bit after hearing it. He could tell this trainer was strong as well as kind, and it had always been his dream to be the biggest strongest Emboar of Unova. Unfortunately, such a dream had always been stomped on by his previous trainer and other pokemon, all of whom called him weak. But this trainer,n Tepig couldn't explain it, but he felt and knew this trainer could not only help him attain his dream, but he could do it faster and better than any other.

"Tepig." said the fire pig pokemon as he leaped into Ash's chest, the trainer instictively grabbing hold.

"Whoa, Tepig what's gotten into you?" Questioned Ash.

"**Isn't it obvious master, the Tepig wishes to join our group."** Mienfoo replied.

"Is that what you want Tepig, to come with me?" Asked Ash, turning his attention back to Tepig. The Pokemon nodded, and replied with his name. Ash smiled and pulled out a pokeball. "Ok then, welcome to the family." With that Ash tapped Tepig with the pokeball, which sucked the fire type into it. It immediately dinged in success of the capture, meaning Tepig had not struggled. Clipping Tepig's ball beside Oshawott's, Ash decided to see if he could find some good pokemon in the woods. After a couple of hours, the sun was setting, and Ash was heading back to the pokemon center, when he heared the sound of fighting flying types. Following the sound, Ash came upon a rare sight. A large flying type, only a little smaller than Pidgeot, sat on a branch watching two smaller flying types fight in a large nest in the crown of the tree. Ash brought out his pokedex and scanned the smaller birds first. With a hum, the pokedex's top screen slid up from the back, and activated.

**'Rufflet, the Eaglet pokemon. It challenges and stands up against even the toughest opponents. Its reckless behaviour is what helps it grow stronger.'** Ash then pointed his pokedex at the bigger flying type. With a beep, the machine scanned the pokemon, and brought up the information.

**'Braviary, the Valiant pokemon, and the evolved form of Rufflet. The more scars this pokemon bears, the more respected it is by its peers. They fight ferociously in defense of their friends, and have the strength to lift a car.'** Putting away his pokedex, Ash watched to see what the two rufflet were doing. Soon, one of the rufflet was hit hard and pushed right out of the nest. The victorious rufflet cheeped in victory, and the watching braviary brought out a carcass, which he brought to the nest and began feeding the victorious rufflet, completely ignoring the one on the was about to go over there and give the Braviary a piece of his mind, but Mienfoo stopped him.

"**Ash, leave it be." **she said.

Why? That Braviary is just ignoring that stranded rufflet, and you want me to leave it be?"

"**It is the way of their kind Ash. The father cannot feed them both, so the two must fight to see who survives. "**

"well I'm not going to sit here and let something die." With that, Ash made his way over to the tree. The Braviary saw him, and got ready to defend his chick, though Ash ignored him. He went up to the struggling rufflet, and after a cursory first aid check up, found that nothing was wrong with it. Bringing out some berries, he gave them to the Rufflet, who eagerly ate them. When it finished, the rufflet gave a happy trill and nuzzled up to Ash. Ash then tapped the pokemon with a pokeball, which sucked the flying type into its confines. The ball shook for a little bit, then pinged in success.

"There," Said Ash, "if the father won't take care of it, then I will. I'm not going to let a pokemon die if I can help it." With that, Ash headed back to the pokemon center, intent on getting some good rest. After finally checking into the pokemon center, Ash changed into his sleepwear, and flopped on the bed. Today was full of surprises. Verbally battling Ghetsis, conversing with N, helping Iris with her Excadrill, saving Tepig from drowning, and catching two new teammates. Ash was feeling great about his start in Unova, but then a stray thought struck him before he fell asleep, what happened to Team Rocket?

…...

The last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon, leaving Unova in dusky twilight. The tranquility of the wooded area of route 1 was suddenly disturbed by a helicopter landing in a clearing. The last few bits of light were barely enough to make out the proud red R on the side of the black helicopter. Three figures leaped out of the aerial vehicle, and the chopper took off once again, leaving thev three figures in the darkness.

"Do you two remember the objectives?" Asked the leftmost figure, who was a woman with long red hair.

"Yes, search for anything that can assist the goal of Team Rocket, and determine the threat level of Team Plasma." Said the rightmost figure, who was a man with lavender blue hair.

"Then let's get to it." Responded the center figure who was in actualioty a talking pokemon, a Meowth to be specific. Suddenly, the wind picked up, obscuring the trio from view with flailing branches and leaves. When the wind and trees calmed, the trio had completely vanished.

…...

**A/N: And that's a wrap people. Man it feels good to be writing again. Once again I profusely apologize for taking so damn long with getting this chapter out. I was busy helping eclispe2025 write his latest chapter of Empathic Adventures. Anyways, thoughts on the chapter? Like it/love it/hate it? R&R please.**


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